As I have stated before, I have been employed in the community care field over the past ten years and one aspect of this fact that has more recently been dawning on me is the fact that I have really had my awareness expanded with regards to many of the various ins and outs of wheelchairs, both manual and electric or motorized. Whether it has been working with individual clients, assisiting them with some of their more basic motorized wheel chair maintenance or chatting about chairs with different maintenance and repair technicians, i have come to learn a thing or two and gain a better understanding of how this kind of mobility device enables individuals in their own homes and out and about in the community.

So what are some of the things that I have learned?

For starters, before starting my job I would never have known that the motorized wheel chair makes use of either a system of gears or a system of belts or sometimes even both. I had not heard of the term "power chair" before my job either, but now I know that the term refers to most categories of motorized wheelchair. My clients with power wheel chairs with belt drives seem to usually have had very quiet chairs, but have often required more maintenance on them. The chairs that had gear drives were fairly quiet and lower-maintenance for the most part, but they tend to wear out more quickly then belt drives, and seemed to get noisier in the process.

Individual chairs definitely seem to vary in their durability: some of my clients have really put their chairs through the wringer but the chairs have kept on chuging along (with the appropriate tlc when needed), while others have found their chairs' performance deteriorating over time despite limited and relatively unchallenging usage. The strength of the chair's frame seems to be a primary factor in determining the durability of the chair and where it should be used; lighter frames are usually more suited for mainly indoor use. The lighter design of wheelchair frame can more easily crack and the front forks of the frame can unintentionally bend. Also, it has seemed that motorized wheel chair motors die out much faster when they are used excessively in an outdoor environment. The chairs that include a heavier design of frame seem to be much more durable and reliable, and those frames are designed to handle more weight. Some of the newer electric wheelchairs my clients have owned even include a form of spring suspension which provides the user with a much smoother ride over more uneven terrain, which is great for those who have had more serious neck injuries to contend with. (comfort in the chair while in motion being an issue here for some)

The people I work with seem to usually have had three choices when it comes to the performance of their chairs: front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, and a mid-wheel drive. The front-wheel drive motorized wheelchair has become more common with many of the individuals in my community because it offers a tighter turning function, but I have been led to believe that this is the prevailing choice these days in most regions. Most of the front-wheel drive wheelchairs have a slightly lower top ( maximum ) speed than their rear-wheel counterparts because they are known to turn too easily at higher speeds. The rear-wheel drive motorized wheel chair is probably the more traditional and most popular style of chair - at least from what I have heard over time. It seems to be faster then a front-wheel model but gives less impressive turning in comparison to the front-wheel and mid-wheel chairs. I have known a couple of individuals who have had experience with the mid-wheel drive wheelchair and they have seemed to feel that the mid wheel drive provides the tightest turning of all. However their chairs had a tendency to be somewhat unsteady when stopping and starting. The mid-wheel drive has caster wheels in the rear and an extra set of anti-tip wheels in the front. This set up of wheels limits their use on more uneven surfaces.

Anything else?

Well another feature that most powered wheel chairs have included (at least in my experience) is either a power tilt feature or a power recline; the power tilt allows the chair's occupant to tilt the entire seat assembly of the chair (including the footrest) back about 45 degrees, while the power recline allows the seat to recline right back and the footrest assembly to raise up horizontally, allowing for a much more horizontal surface. Both of these features are an effective means of allowing the chair's occupant to realieve the pressure they would feel after sitting in their chair for any prolonged length of time. (pressure to the lower regions - ie. the buttocks or even the feet is a key factor in the development of some types of pressure sores in disabled individuals)

Wow, a job can really teach you a lot, ready or not!

Just in case you want to read what has come before in this series of hubs, feel free to visit my earlier Hub which was an introduction to my look at the presence and use of personal mobility aids within the home and community setting. I also have taken a look at the various lift chair recliners used in the home. In another previous Hub, I looked at the use of the different types of wheelchair stair lifts that are installed in amny homes.